Free tool · 2 minutes
IRD debt options checker
Nine quick questions. A calm, ranked plan back, with the deadlines that apply to you, your credit-reporting risk and the documents to pull from myIR. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
Your urgency
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Your plan, in order
Pull these from myIR and your files
Want a real person to check this with you? A 60-second enquiry, no credit check to enquire.
Talk to a funder about my plan →How the checker works
The checker doesn't guess at your future or quote any rates. It does what a careful adviser would do in the first ten minutes of a conversation: put deadlines first, put the most dangerous debt first, test whether the business is viable, and then line up the realistic routes in order.
- Deadlines come first. A statutory demand generally gives 15 working days to pay, settle or apply to set it aside, and a liquidation application gives shareholders 10 working days to appoint their own liquidator. If either applies, your plan starts with a lawyer and a fast funding answer.
- PAYE is treated as the priority debt. Unpaid employer deductions attract 10% and another 10% for each further month, and IRD says directors who decide not to pay can be prosecuted. See PAYE arrears.
- Viability decides whether borrowing makes sense. If the business is losing money or has stopped trading, the checker steers you to your accountant first, and to a licensed insolvency practitioner if the business can't continue. A loan only helps a business that can repay it.
- Size and security shape the funding route. Property-secured loans run from $20,000 to $5,000,000; cash-flow options for trading businesses are typically $5,000 to $500,000.
- Your history with IRD matters. A broken or declined arrangement makes a new one harder to get, so funding moves up the list.
- Credit-reporting risk is flagged for companies. From 1 April 2026, IRD can report company GST, PAYE or income tax debt over $150,000 and 90 days overdue, or debt unpaid for more than 12 months that's 30% or more of assessable income (IRD).
What the checker can't do
It can't see your myIR account, confirm a legal deadline, or tell you whether a loan will be approved. It's a planning aid. Use it to decide what to do first, then check the details with the right people: your accountant for viability, a lawyer for legal deadlines, and a real person on our team for funding.
Where we fit, honestly
We're a private business lender. We're not an insolvency firm, liquidator, pre-insolvency adviser or tax agent, and we don't earn anything if a company is wound up or if you choose an IRD arrangement. That's why the checker will often put an instalment arrangement or a conversation with your accountant above a loan. When funding is the stronger route, it says so, and our arrangement vs loan cost check helps you compare the dollars. For every route, see IRD debt help: all routes.
Before you call anyone
If your plan includes talking to an insolvency adviser, read before you call anyone about tax debt and take our questions to ask any adviser with you. Ask for fees in writing, check the practitioner's licence on the Companies Office register, and ask whether paying or refinancing IRD has been considered.
Frequently asked questions
Is the IRD debt options checker free?
Yes. It's free, it runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent to us or stored. It doesn't involve a credit check.
How does the checker rank the options?
It weighs the letters you've received (deadlines first), the tax types (PAYE first), whether the business is trading viably, the size of the debt, whether you have property, and your history with arrangements. It then lists the routes most likely to work, in order, with the reasons.
Will the checker tell me if I qualify for a loan?
No. It shows whether funding is likely to be worth exploring. Only an assessment by a real person can confirm what's possible, and every loan is priced on the business's circumstances.
Why doesn't the checker ask for interest rates?
Because rates change and every loan is priced individually. The checker focuses on deadlines, risk and the order of steps. To compare costs, use our arrangement vs loan cost check, which works in dollars.
Does the checker give legal or tax advice?
No. It's general information to help you plan. If you have a statutory demand or liquidation application, talk to a lawyer straight away.
What's the credit-reporting flag?
From 1 April 2026, IRD can report a company's GST, PAYE or income tax debt when it's over $150,000 and 90 days overdue, or unpaid for more than 12 months and 30% or more of assessable income. The checker flags when your answers suggest you may be near those thresholds.
No credit check to enquire
Asking what's possible leaves your credit file untouched. A credit check only comes up once you choose to go ahead.
Not sprayed to lenders
We don't sell or broadcast your enquiry. One team looks at your IRD position and works on it directly.
A real person reads it
Someone who understands IRD's process calls you back. Honest answers on the form mean the first call is a useful one.
Turn your plan into a funded one
If the checker puts funding near the top, tell us the details in about 60 seconds. No credit check when you first enquire, and a real person who knows IRD's process calls you back.
No credit check to enquire
Not sprayed to lenders
A real person reads it